My son is seven and still needs me to cuddle him for him to fall alseep

The current medication our son is on helps, but most nights he also needs some liquid melatonin. The liquid kind seems to work much better than the pill form.

We also have the thermostat set to lower to 65 by his bedtime (sometimes we're in sweaters).

And if there's any screen time after dinner, it's calming music (either a playlist of lullabyes or aquarium with music). A soft light in his room, his favorite pillow and blanket, music if he needs it, and one of those stuffed animals that makes different soothing sounds in case he needs it. (And all the toys put away in sealed bins.)

Last night I took him for a long walk before bed, too.

Most nights, he will still wake up crying. We take him some water and are reassuring. If he really needs it, we may offer to stay.

I wouldn't go cold turkey on the rocking, but I would set some limits. Maybe right now it's 15 or 30 minutes max. Over time, reduce it. Try to get them to where they're drowsy but not asleep before transitioning to the bed. And to eventually where you're saying "Ok, kiddo, off to bed" and you're helping them walk to the bed themselves so that they're a participant in getting into bed, that it's not just something that's being done to them, but something they're (reluctantly, sure) choosing.

Sleep has sucked for all of us in our house for more years than we can remember. Here's hoping your fate is a more restful one!

My son is 2 1/2 and has difficulty calming himself down at night. We tried everything but he started becoming more aggressive fighting the tired feeling. His doctor and therapist recommended we give him gummy melatonin to help him and since we have started it he has been falling asleep no problem. It's so routine now that he will ask for his gummy to go to bed. He still wakes up in the middle of the night but the anxiousness has vanished! It's nice to see him rest peacefully now. Developmental ped told us to keep up with it if it's working good. Might be something to look into! Goodluck! :)